Category Archives: News

Guerrilla Gardeners 2014

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Skerries Guerrilla Gardeners, a committee of Skerries Community Association, are looking back on a busy year. They write:

We have been working with the parents and staff in the local schools to create outdoor learning areas.

The structure of the outdoor classroom and some gardeners

Skerries Educate Together parents & guerrilla gardeners

In Skerries Educate Together N​S​ ​the hard landscaping and structures funded by the Percent for Art scheme are completed. Parents and children are now installing mulch-lined pathways, raised beds and a planting scheme. When this is finalised in early 2015, the school will have a wonderful new space in a beautiful setting. The funding from a Local Agenda 21 grant will enable the purchase of plants and other supplies which cannot be sourced or supplied through voluntary effort.

Building work at St Patrick’s Junior will also lead to a changed layout for the school garden. Despite this, every child has been involved in making bird feeders, fat balls and ‘leaf’ collections. Each class has looked at the diversity of plants within its grounds, and the children have been planting a wide range to attract different species of butterflies and bees.
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As we look forward to 2015 we are hoping to build on previous successes ​(​and failures!​) and would love to hear from anyone who is willing to volunteer a couple of hours a month.

Contact: Michael McKenna – gardeners@skerriesca.com

gardeners in action

More of the action at Skerries Educate Together

 

Skerries Town Twinning Review of 2014

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Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année !
Skerries Town Twinning Association had a busy year in 2014 celebrating the 20th anniversary of the twinning with the Canton of Guichen.  In August we welcomed 41 visitors and we were most grateful to all the local families who hosted the visitors.  Also to the many individuals and associations who helped us with the organisation of the events in the 5-day visit.
bus departing Skerries Mills 2014

Au revoir! Visitors from Guichen depart from Skerries 2014

We look forward now to a return trip in July 2015 to celebrate the twinning link in the Canton of Guichen.  We will keep you all informed of plans.
We have also been invited to send three young people ( +16) to take part in an international work camp In Laillé, also during July.  This will be a very exciting project and we will be getting started on recruiting the participants in the New Year.
commemorative plaque in Floraville Park, Skerries
We will be holding our annual Dinner at the end of January, Saturday 24th in The Rockabill restaurant and hope to contact all our members and friends before then with final details.
twinning 02

Bird Boxes set up – Tidy Towns, Foróige and BirdWatch Ireland

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On Saturday 15th November, BirdWatch Ireland members invited representatives of the Fóroige group and the Tidy Towns Committee (one of the committees of Skerries Community Association) to come along and help erect the boxes.
The sites selected were in the grounds of the Church of Ireland and in the park adjacent to the Mill. The sites chosen for the bat boxes are close to known existing roosts.
The bird boxes were placed in areas of high bird activity.

The bird boxes will be monitored for activity in spring by Birdwatch Ireland who has undertaken to clean them each year after use, to make them ready for the following year’s occupants.

Installing a bird box

Paul Denny on ladder, Jim English, Breege Madden, Abbey Holland and Paul Lynch.

Source: Skerries Tidy Towns

Skerries Town Park Public Consultation

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Skerries Town Park Masterplan Consultation is underway now and closes on 27 January: As Part of Age Friendly Action Skerries, Fingal County Council is planning to improve Skerries Town Park. Plans are on display until 13 January.

Skerries Town Park from the site notice

From the Site Notice.

The plans for the Skerries Town Park Masterplan are available now in Swords & Balbriggan County Offices and in Skerries Library – as well as on the Fingal County Council website, from where we retrieved the documents on this page, too.

Please note that the current masterplan deals with the following aspects:

  • New Play Facilities including Children’s Playground and Multi-use Games Area
  • New Adult Exercise Area
  • Improved Path Network including resurfacing of existing paths, additional sections of footpaths and 3 additional pedestrian entrances
  • Provision of Wildlife Viewing Deck
  • Reconfiguration of Sports Pitches
  • Upgrading of Existing Sports Pitches
  • Upgrading of Existing Sports Pitches including improving drainage
Skerries Town Park Masterplan

click on the map to enlarge (opens in a new tab)

The Directors of Skerries Community Association are encouraging everybody, and all groups in Skerries (especially its own committees) to take a good look at the documents and to make any views known to devplan@fingal.ie

[Fingal County Council add: All comment,s including the names and addresses of those making comments, submitted to the Council in regard to this development will form part of the statutorily required report to be presented to the monthly meeting of Fingal County Council. Accordingly they will also be included in the minutes of that meeting and consequently will appear on the Council’s Website.]

Skerries Town Park Proposed Improvements

From the Report

Skerries Town Park Notificaiton Ad

 

Tidy Towns Annual Awards Night 2014

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The annual awards night of Skerries Tidy Towns (one of the most active committees of Skerries Community Association) was held recently in Joe Mays. A large crowd came to see the prizes being presented and celebrate a great year for Tidy Towns in Skerries.
Tidy Towns Awards 2014 01The best-presented business went to The White Cottages, sponsored by Tom and Denyze from Skerries Art School.
The best floral display went to Ollie’s Place, sponsored by the Tidy Towns committee, who also sponsored the best signage, which went to Da Vino’s.
The best window display went to VIP (Very Important Parties) and was sponsored by the Red Bank.
The award for the best-presented private house in the town went to O’Leary’s in the Square and was sponsored by Tidy Towns.
The best-presented house in an estate went to Gerry Boardman at 16 Mill Hill Park, sponsored by Shay Kelly Auctioneers.
The best estate award was shared by the Heights, Jetty, Tide, Harbour and the Rise areas of Kelly’s Bay, sponsored by Skerries Community Association.
 Photographs by Skerries Tidy Towns / Brendan Sherlock.

 

Skerries CoderDojo looking for mentors!

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Skerries CoderDojo, the free, volunteer-led monthly coding club for kids from 7 to 17 (and their parents), is going from strength to strength. After two meetings in the lovely upstairs of Joe May’s, that venue became too small, and they have now taken over the Old Schoolhouse (part of Skerries Community Centre), where they will be found one Sunday every month from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Advanced Group November 2014 CoderDojo

Advanced Group November 2014 CoderDojo

Now they need more mentors so they can continue coaching the young computer enthusiasts and fill all the space they now have at their disposal. If interested, please contact Sabine at coderdojo@skerriesca.com – you will be offered training if necessary. At the moment, the club is using Scratch and JavaScript. Additional Parent Helpers / Organisers are also welcome.

Intermediate Group November 2014 CoderDojo

Intermediate Group November 2014 CoderDojo

One of the advantages of being in the Old Schoolhouse is that the volunteers can now set up a Café Dojo, where parents (who have to stay on the premises if their children are under 12) can sit and chat and have some coffee / cake. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Café Dojo November 2014 CoderDojo

Café Dojo November 2014 CoderDojo

While the club is free to attend, ninjas (participants) must book in and bring a laptop, and a parent if they are under 12. Bookings for each CoderDojo opens a week before  the event and is done online only, through the Skerries CoderDojo EventBrite page.

Contact coderdojo@skerriesca.com if you would like to be added to their email list, so that you will automatically be alerted when booking opens.

Skerries CoderDojo would like to thank their main sponsor, Ian Cleary of RazorSocia.com, a Rush-based company / website of international renown that evaluates social media tools.

Brendan Sherlock – our Community Person of the Year

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Congratulations are due to Brendan Sherlock, one of the Directors of the Skerries Community Association and a long-standing & very active volunteer, for being the recipient of a Fingal County Council Community Person of the Year Award recently.

Apart from his involvement as a Director of the SCA, in our tree-planting committee Crann Padraig, and now the new Age Friendly Skerries Committee, Brendan is an active member of the Loughshinny Motorcycle Supporters Club and the Skerries representative on the Fingal Community and Voluntary Council.

Our Chairperson, Ciara Leonard, writes:

We are very proud to announce that our fellow SCA board member, Brendan Sherlock was honoured at the Community Person of the Year Awards, held by Fingal County Council on Wednesday 5th November 2014 in the Draíocht, Blanchardstown, hosted by Mary Kennedy. Brendan received his award from the mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Mags Murray. Brendan was nominated by ourselves, Crann Phádraig and Loughshinny Motorcycle Club for his many years of service to our community. 

Brendan Sherlock receiving Community Person Award

Brendan receiving his award from the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Mags Murray; far left: Paul Reid, CEO, Fingal County Council; far right: Mary Kennedy.

At Community Person Award 2014 Photo by Kevin Mcfeely

The Skerries Community Association Delegation at the Awards Ceremony, from left to right: Paul Reid, CEO of Fingal County Council; Martin Russell, SCA; Ciara Leonard, Chair, SCA; Brendan Sherlock himself; Mary Kennedy; Mary Conway, SCA; Brendan’s nephew Paul Sherlock; Nunce McAuley, SCA.

At the Community Awards Reception 2014 Photo by Kevin Mcfeely

Ciara Leonard, Nunce McAuley (back to us), Brendan’s nephew Paul Sherlock, Brendan Sherlock, Martin Russell

Photographs of the event: Kevin McFeely Photography, Swords.

Can you help Age Friendly Skerries?

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logo of Age Friendly IrelandSkerries is an Age Friendly Town, i.e. a town where the community understands and responds to the needs of older people.

In December 2013, Skerries received its Age Friendly Town Charter. As part of the process a number of activities were undertaken in the town including:

  • A Walkability Survey
  • Consultation days with older adults and service providers
  • Audit of signage in the town

The Skerries Chamber of Commerce and Prosper Fingal Piercetown undertook to participate in the Business of Ageing programme, which is also being rolled out in the town.

Feedback from the all of this consultation was used to develop an Action Plan for the town, which will be launched shortly.

An Age Friendly Town Committee of Skerries Community Association is in the process of being established. This group will – among other things – be collating all existing relevant information; developing a new user friendly information database; and deciding on how disseminate this information to all the relevant stakeholders and older people themselves.

The Age Friendly Town Committee need your help!

Mary Conway and Brendan Sherlock of Skerries Age Friendly Town need your input.

They say:

We need people in the town to be champions for older people, especially
those who find themselves socially isolated due to health problems

Service Providers:

We need up-to-date information on your services for older people.

Clubs:

We need up-to-date information on the club. What are you doing for older people or former members and / or would you consider hosting an event for older people in the town at least once a year?

With your help we would like not only to update information in the town, but also to put together a calendar of events for older people in the town.

Please send your ideas to mary.conway@skerriesca.com or brendan.sherlock@skerriesca.com.

Facebook SCA card image

Age Friendly Town Skerries – A new committee!

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Making Skerries a better place in which to live, work and grow old

In 2013, Fingal County Council, in association with Age Friendly Ireland, selected Skerries as the town in which to pilot the Age Friendly Town process in Fingal. This was something that Skerries Community Association had been wanting to do for many years.
The aim is to make Skerries a better place in which to live, work and grow old. As part of the process, a number of activities were carried out in the town including:
  • A walkability study
  • Consultation days with older adults and service providers
  • An audit of signage in the town
  • Participation in the “Business of Aging” programme on the part of Skerries Chamber of Commerce and Prosper Fingal.
Limerick December 2013, Skerries received its Age Friendly Town Charter

Limerick December 2013, Skerries received its Age Friendly Town Charter

Feedback from the consultation was used to develop an action plan for the town which includes:
  1. The upgrade and enhancement of the Town Park making it more accessible for all.
  2. Roll out of OPRAH (Older People Remaining at Home) initiative by the HSE.
    In conjunction with the HSE 26 people are being cared for in their own homes by the provision of extra care services. This is organised by the District Nurse, the patient’s doctor and the HSE.
  3. Roll out of befriending programmes to alleviate social isolation.
    Crosscare are organising visits to people’s home once a week for a chat for an hour where people have indicated the need for such a visit.  Both the client and the visitor are visited by Crosscare first and the visitor is Garda vetted.  There were 17 volunteers in August 2015, and Cross Care were in the process of getting more volunteers.
  4. Setting up of, and support for, Carers’ Meetings in association with the Carers’ Association.
    Carers meet regularly in Skerries Mills. See The Carer’s Association
  5. “Message in a Bottle” Initiative
    This project, launched with the support of Skerries Fire Brigade, helps to save the emergency services valuable time identifying someone in difficulty. It is a potential lifesaver and provides peace of mind to the user, their carer, and their family. A white plastic bottle with specific markings has been given to older  people, especially those living alone.  The idea is that their medicines and other important next-of-kin details are in the bottle and the emergency services will search for the bottle  automatically
  6. Making Skerries more accessible to older people:
    In conjunction with the Liaison Committee two seats have been placed in Strand Street.A walkability study was done with a number of people to identify hazards and some repairs were carried out and some more need identifying to the Council.
  7. Older people and hospitals:
    The Fingal Alliance group and the Skerries group attended a meeting with Beaumont  hospital with a view to making it more user friendly.
    The vantastic bus to the hospitals is working well. You do need to register first and then book your seat on time 5 euro each way.
  8. Provision of information on services and social clubs.
    An information Pack was launched in August 2014 and will be distributed to all of the established estates in the hope to reach will get most of the older people.
    The information pack is also available in Skerries Library and in the Citizens Information Office, New Street, as well as at Reception in our Community Centre.
    Citizens Information in New St are updating their local file of information in addition to all the other information and will be happy to help with Age Friendly information.   It is our aim  to have a full internet-enabled data base for everyone in Skerries when we get more resources.

Skerries Age Friendly Committee

The committee is working on addressing a number of the action items above and currently focuses on:
  • Building and maintaining a database of all services available in Skerries (for everyone including the over 55s).
  • Promoting and facilitating greater inclusion in the social, cultural and sporting life in Skerries on the part of older adults.
  • Building up and maintaining a network of older people who can be contacted in person or via the phone as well as via online or print means.
We are doing the above in partnership with FCC (Eithne Mallin) who is coordinating the delivery of other age friendly services in Skerries by a number of organisations.
FCC is supporting us by providing information about sources of funding and useful contacts etc. The committee is part of The Skerries Community Association Ltd.
 
If you or someone you know would like to get involved, please email agefriendly@skerriesca.com.
Contact: Mary & Brendan at agefriendly@skerriesca.com